The Art of Spectating

I ran my first marathon exactly a year ago yesterday. The 2012 Orange County marathon served me well as my first ever 26.2 and was surely a day to remember. Boston qualified. Fifth woman overall. Yadda yadda. To this day, I know that there'll always remain a special place in my heart for that OC course. And even though I wasn't sporting a bib number yesterday, I was there for another reason.

Being a spectator has always been bit foreign (and often a little challenging for me) but there was no where else I'd rather have been on Sunday. Four AM came quicker than I thought it would. My alarm seemed to go off as soon as my eyes shut, but I was full of excitement and shot right up out of bed and stumbled around in the dark to get ready. For not even racing that morning, the butterflies were quite lively in my stomach. I dropped my boyfriend Enzo off at the start of the 2013 Orange County marathon, and then headed back to the finish line to ditch my car and hop on my road bike. Between wishing him well and catching an effortless glance at the long lines of porta-potties and the starting line under the glowing street lights, I could hardly wait to embark on the journey ahead. He was running his third 26.2-miler, and ambitiously striving for a mean PR. Meanwhile, I was gearing up to take on a 20-mile cheering section ride.

The roads were so peaceful, yet full of hope and exuberance. This sounds corny in every single way it rings through my head, but I'm going to say it anyway. There was something in the air that morning. I just had a feeling that it was going to be a day for the books.

My bike tires briskly grazed the asphalt as I raced from the finish line to the first cheering spot on my map. I anxiously waited between mile seven and eight, and was beyond compelled to cheer for nearly every runner who ran by me before I spotted Enzo. But before I knew it, he was cruising up Dover Drive, hanging a hard right into the Castaways neighborhood, shooting me a smirk--tongue hanging out and all.

Immediately after seeing him pass me, I flipped my bike around and headed off to my next cheering spot. . . just after mile 10. Smiles were still amidst his face and I was really beginning to get the hang of this whole cheering thing. I suddenly felt totally dialed in. Each time he passed me, I simply hauled ass to the next spot marked on my bike route. The list went a little like this. Mile 7.5, mile 10.25, mile 17, mile 21, and then (dun, dun, dun) the finish! I could not have been more excited that I was able to make it to all of my goal spots with significant time to spare.

On a completely different level, spectating taught me something that day. I realized that I was participating in something bigger than running a race for myself. Usually I'm on the other side of the orange cones, with my family and friends racing around cheering me on along the course. But today was special. I got to be the support system. And I couldn't be more thankful for it.

When I reached the finishing area on my bike and staked out my final cheering spot, I was overwhelmed with emotion. As I awaited Enzo's marathon finish, I watched others. Seeing their faces light up as they were about to cross the finish line brought tears of joy to my own eyes (several times!) and I didn't even know them! Finishing that 26.2 mile journey is something else, and I feel so blessed to have been able to just be there witnessing random strangers beaming with emotion at the end of it all. Not before long, I saw him. He had done it. The clock just turned 3:48, and within a few measly seconds, he'd smash his old PR and easily break four hours for the first time. There's nothing like that post-marathon glow. The one that radiates off of you after a satisfying race. Today was just one of those days, and I'm beyond glad I was able to be a part of it.

Add Comment

Comments (7)

I spectated one year and volunteered one year at the marathon I FINALLY ran on Saturday:-) It was almost the opposite of this story, getting to see it from the course instead of the sideline!!!! Congrats to your BF on a huge PR!!!

Welcome to The Loop

The Loop is an active community of bloggers. "Loopsters" share their running experiences and give each other tons of encouragement. To get involved, post a comment on someone's blog or click the "Add Content" button and then select "Blog Post in The Loop" to start a blog of your own.

Remove From Your Block List

Manage Follow Preferences

Block

When you block a person, they can no longer invite you to a private message or post to your profile wall. Replies and comments they make will be collapsed/hidden by default. Finally, you'll never receive email notifications about content they create or likes they designate for your content.